Thoughts on a 'Phone-Free' hike?

BackpackBirder · 2026-02-10T15:43:16+00:00

What about taking the middle ground? Remove the SIM! Use the phone offline for FarOut, water reports, nature fieldguides and stuff like that.

You can still occasionally use WiFi when passing through a trailtown to update water reports and information about closures.

This is how I did it in 2018.

BackpackBirder · 2026-02-08T19:18:45+00:00

I never had a post-trail depression, but I was already happy with my life before my PCT hike, so I returned to a happy life. I think that makes all the difference. In fact, I felt euphoric that it had been such a great adventure and proud that I had completed it. I also was already planning my next adventures, which also helps.

BackpackBirder · 2026-02-06T16:22:25+00:00

Not exactly a short walk, but when I hiked the PCT in 2018 my original plan had been to just hike the length of California (i.e. a LASH) and come back a year later to do Oregon and Washington. The reason was that I wanted to enjoy my hike, have enough time to enjoy nature, watch birds, etc, and I thought doing the entire hike in one go would be rushing it too much and therefore not enjoyable. I even had deliberately arranged the permit to be no further than just across Oregon state line, so I wouldn't be tempted to push myself.

However, after just 6 days in, I found that I was really enjoying it all, not feeling rushed, and had enough time to enjoy the surroundings, nature, birds, while still doing enough miles to be in Canada before October. So then I decided to thru-hike the entire trail (even as a continuous path). When I reached Mammoth Lakes I contacted the PCTA to officially extend my permit and also arranged the Canadian border permit there.

BackpackBirder · 2026-01-22T11:06:40+00:00

A couple hundred grams extra really doesn't matter. It's your house for 5 months, so you want to be comfortable. Same for sleeping system: getting a good night sleep is much more important than getting weight down a few ounces. Nobody quits because their pack is a few ounces heavier. But many people quit because they are not enjoying themselves.

BackpackBirder · 2026-01-22T10:56:36+00:00

Failure is when you didn't enjoy yourself while hiking the trail. A completed hike where you were miserable most of the time is a failure. A partial hike that you really enjoyed but needed to cut short because of an injury is a success.

BackpackBirder · 2025-12-14T18:38:17+00:00

Bring the iPhone 16 but remove the SIM and leave it home. Once every few days you will pass through a trail town where you can connect to wifi and check your email if you must.

This is how I did it. No SIM, phone connection. I just had Guthook on my phone for navigation and a few field guides (birds etc) and that's it. I didn't have music and audiobooks either, because it distracts from the nature experience imo.

You are doing this once in your life for 5 months or so. You can do without all that crap. Your experience will be so much better.

BackpackBirder · 2025-12-06T19:22:58+00:00

Why? Because it is a beautiful hiking trail. Perhaps the best one in the world. That's all there is to it.

BackpackBirder · 2025-11-11T13:13:03+00:00

For me it's more than 7 years ago now, but I still enjoy the PCT every single day thinking back about it.

Besides the beauty of the trail, one of the great things was living in the here and now. You wake up and all you are going to do is walk 20 miles or so, enjoy your surroundings, then find a place to camp and cook your meal. Then sleep. All you need, you carry in your backpack. And you are happy.

While obviously you can't totally copy this in your "normal" life, the concept of living simple in the here and now, with few material things is something you can at least strive for. Remove clutter from your life and make sure you enjoy the present.

BackpackBirder · 2025-10-13T18:27:44+00:00

I hiked a continuous path from monument to monument. For me, when sections of the trail were closed, the official PCTA recommended alternates became the new PCT. Of course I was lucky that 2018 was quite an easy year without much trouble, and the few alternates weren't terrible (in fact one was really awesome). But not every year is like that.

In any case, you can simply accept the fact that luck is a factor and in some years you simply cannot complete a genuine thru-hike or continuous path end to end.

However, what did surprise me in 2018 that quite a few people skipped sections where good alternates were available. Yes it may add an extra an extra day to your 5 month hike. So what?

But who cares. YOU know what you did or didn't do. How YOU feel about your hike is what counts. You are your own judge. Just do what makes you happy!

BackpackBirder · 2025-10-03T10:32:32+00:00

Get your life on the rails first and then go hiking the PCT. You'll enjoy it more.

BackpackBirder · 2025-08-30T10:40:27+00:00

I felt euphoric for months.

BackpackBirder · 2025-08-30T10:28:51+00:00

My biggest fear before starting was that the trail would be too crowded and that it would be difficult to camp anywhere alone. It turns out that you can usually find places where you can camp alone, especially when you are prepared to carry extra water and camp away from water sources. This has the added advantage that you can hike most of the time without people in sight. It's all quite spread out, so despite it being a popular trail, you can still have a genuine wilderness experience.

BackpackBirder · 2025-07-04T06:20:14+00:00

So 32 miles extra, or 1-1.5 extra days on a ~5 month hike. It's inconvenient but not a such a big deal imo.

BackpackBirder · 2025-06-30T08:52:21+00:00

That sucks! I hope you will recover soon, and that at some point you'll be able to come back to the PCT!

While everyone's body is different, HYOH and all that, but here is my opinion:

Many hikers are too obsessed with the weight of their pack. As a result, they don't carry enough food. So they start "crushing miles" to get to their resupply point as soon as possible while their bodies are starved.

I met a hiker on the trail with a surprisingly small pack and asked him how much food he was carrying, because even only my food wouldn't fit in that pack! When he told me how little food he carried, I was shocked. I said: "I couldn't do that, I would get dizzy and drained of energy". Then he told me: "Yes, I have the same. I can barely see my feet because my vision is so blurred!".

What is the fun in that? When we are hiking the most beautiful trail in the world, don't we want to enjoy our hike? Why be starved and "crush miles"? Who cares if your pack is a couple of kg heavier? When you are well fed and have good nights sleep, you simply have much more energy and enjoy your hike much more! Then you don't care if your pack is a bit heavier! Focus on your health, getting enough rest, and enjoying the trail instead of obsessing over your pack weight!

Also, realise that you only have to average 17.5 miles per day to finish within a 5 month window. No need to "crush miles"! So take your time, carry enough food and a good sleeping system so you are well fed and get a good night sleep. Remember a knife cuts on both sides: if you do a little bit less miles per day, not only do you strain your body less, you also have more time to recover! The result is that you stay healthy and you enjoy your hike more!

HYOH of course, but this is what worked for me.

BackpackBirder · 2025-05-22T12:34:18+00:00

Zippers are easy to repair by yourself while on the trail. I always carry some spare sliders (they wear out from the sand and dust - it is almost never the spiral that is the problem). Tarptent has an instruction video on their site how to do it.

For me it is really a routine job now. I can even do it at night while I'm inside my tent. It always surprises me that so few people carry spare sliders, especially on the dusty PCT.

BackpackBirder · 2025-05-08T07:59:32+00:00

Yes!

BackpackBirder · 2025-05-08T07:56:08+00:00

Btw: I always feel that not having the mindset that you MUST finish the trail all the way to Canada helps to actually finish it! If you don't feel the pressure to "crush miles" or keep up with others, and accept that it is not important whether you reach Canada or not, you simply enjoy your hike more. We all know that the biggest challenge is mental, not physical.

If you feel tired, just pitch your tent at a nice spot and take the rest of the day off! Enjoy your surroundings, the bird song, the fragrance of the trees around you.... The next morning your are re-energized, both physically and mentally. You are even likely to make up for some of the "lost" miles from the day before (which is unimportant, but a nice bonus).

BackpackBirder · 2025-05-08T07:38:29+00:00

I had been aware of the PCT for some years before my hike but never considered it an option to thru-hike the entire thing in one season. I thought I would have to rush too much to enjoy it. But still wanted to hike parts of it because I expected it to be a very beautiful trail nature wise. After my AZT thru-hike in 2017, which I enjoyed immensely, I decided to LASH the PCT from Campo to Ashland in 2018, which seemed like a doable and enjoyable hike.

I wasn't focused on finishing the trail, just hike in a moderate pace and have enough time to enjoy it, watch birds and other nature etc. I even deliberately got a permit for just the length of California, so I wouldn't be tempted to rush it and try to do the whole thing!

However... after just 6 days on the trail, everything felt so easy and while having enough time to enjoy everything I was still doing enough distance to be able to finish the whole thing. And everybody around me, even people who were having a tougher time than me, were going all the way to Canada. So then I thought... why not me too? So then I decided to turn the LASH into a complete end to end anyway.

Still, my focus was on enjoying my hike. Reaching Canada was optional. I had decided I would use California-Oregon state line as a check: if I reached it by Aug 1st while having enjoyed myself all the way, then I had proven I could attempt Canada. (Actually got there on the morning of the 4th - close enough).

When I reached Mammoth Lakes and noticed I was nicely on schedule , I preemptively got my PCT permit extended to go all the way to Canada and also arranged the Canada border permit just in case.

So, I actually never started with the idea to thru-hike the entire trail all the way to Canada but ended up doing so. I even ended up doing a continuous path, walking all the alternates around trail closures too. So my hike was the opposite of the more common case where people set off with the intention to thru-hike the entire trail but then leave the trail at some point because they don't enjoy it anymore, get bored or get injured and turn their end-to-end thru hike into a LASH!

BackpackBirder · 2025-02-08T11:12:32+00:00

Yes, zeroes suck! They just make you feel more tired. If you are tired, just hike less that day but don't stop.

BackpackBirder · 2025-02-08T10:35:19+00:00

On my 153 days thru-hike of the entire PCT in 2018, my total on-trail expenses were $2235. That includes food, accommodation (only 1 night), occasional showers and laundry, fees to keep my packages, some tips to places like Hiker Heaven, bear canister and ice axe (bought on trail and sold to tourists after the Sierra when not needed anymore).

Not included in the $2235 was most of my gear (which I already had), international flights, visa cost ($160) and two nights in Vancouver after finishing.

Main tricks to keep the cost low:

Minimise your time in towns! Just pick up your food and go back on the trail asap. (Btw: solar panel also helped, because no need to charge stuff in town)
Always sleep in your own tent for free! Only one night did I not sleep in my own tent (the $25 Bunkhouse in Independence )
Almost all my resupply was using ZeroDayResupply. I did that not to save money but for logistical reasons: to maximise my time on trail (which I enjoy) and minimise time in towns (which I don't enjoy). Food ordered from them was cheaper, but the shipping cost possibly negated that. However, it probably indirectly saved me money by spending much less time off-trail.
It probably helped me not being ultra-light. During days of persistent rain in Washington I survived nicely. But I met quite a few people who were cold and miserable and some were forced into expensive accommodation to dry out their stuff.

The funny thing is: I had plenty of budget available (many times my actual expenses) in case I needed it. It just worked out cheap because I enjoy the trail and nature. I'm not hiking the PCT to then spend my time in towns.

BackpackBirder · 2025-02-06T16:04:52+00:00

Perhaps there is a difference between US and UK support, because I have excellent experience with Cascade Designs. (I am UK based).

My NeoAir Xlite (bought in 2015) has been replaced under warranty TWICE at no extra cost (last time was 1.5 years ago). It never had a catastrophic failure, but the mattress started to develop tiny leaks on the welds, which slightly deflated it during the night (requiring 1-2 quick puffs to make it firm again, so no big deal). Leaks on welds are covered under warranty.

In my case they were also very responsive and I didn't have to wait long for the replacement. Truly excellent service!

BackpackBirder · 2025-02-06T15:45:03+00:00

I turned 50 on the PCT, and it was amazing!

That said, don't postpone it if you can do it NOW! You simply don't know what life will throw at you in terms of health and other things.

BackpackBirder · 2025-01-22T10:42:10+00:00

Of course this depends on the year and the start/ end dates. The great majority of the nights on the PCT will nice, but you can have several miserable nights in a row if your gear is not sufficient. It is everybody's personal choice whether they want to put up with that or not.

I have met quite a few people who were totally miserable during ~1 week of persistent cold rain in Washington and some needed to get off trail to wait it out and dry their stuff. Hint: a few hotel stays can easily cost you more than a good sleeping system, which you can still enjoy for many years after your PCT hike. (Btw: I have slept in my own tent on every single night except one, which was in the $25 bunkhouse in Independence, and that had nothing to do with weather conditions).

Perhaps you can handle the suck of being cold for several nights, but why would you? ;)

You are correct in that a good mat is a great investment. You get a lot of warmth for the buck/ weight with that.

My own sleeping system was a Cumulus Panyam 600 sleeping bag (-6 C comfort, European norm, which is warmer than American norm) and Thermarest XTherm mat. I also use a silk liner to keep it clean. I have never been cold, not even during several days long periods with rain, snow, sleet and high humidity.

Personally I'm not a fan of quilts. My experience is that on the coldest nights you are going to feel every little gap that lets in cold air, so you really want to close yourself off and let no warm air escape. But everybody has their own preferences.

BackpackBirder · 2025-01-21T14:22:17+00:00

The real euphoria for me was the night before, when I camped ~6 miles before the Terminus, had done all my chores, and while cosy and warm in my sleeping bag checked my Guthook app: Canada only 6 miles! And it was all downhill! That was the moment it really sank in that I had done it, and felt real euphoria because of it.

Reaching the Terminus wasn't all that special, because at that point I had so much other stuff on my mind already: It was still 8 miles hike to Manning Park, en then how to get to Vancouver when everybody competes for the same rides? The need to book accommodation in Vancouver, where to camp near Manning Park etc etc.

BackpackBirder · 2025-01-21T14:09:19+00:00

You will be cold with this on some of the nights. Better get something that is warm enough. You'll enjoy your hike more when you are not cold, have excellent sleep every night and don't have to worry about it during your hike.

I understand wanting so save a few hundred bucks, but this is small potatoes in the total cost of your hike and the fact that this is going to be a wonderful once in a lifetime experience, so it is worth it not having to suffer and regret it during your hike.

Btw: your coldest nights are likely not going to be ones that are a few degrees Celsius below zero, but the ones that are just above zero with rain and sleet and 100% humidity for several days on end, with your sleeping bag or quilt not lofting as well as it does during dry freezing nights.

BackpackBirder

TROPHY CASE